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Case Study - Adult Education Centre: Centre Saint-Michel, Sherbrooke (QC)

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Centre Saint-Michel
Centre St-Michel is an education centre for adults in downtown Sherbrooke. Built in 1948, the building has 5,700 m² of floor area and provides courses for an average of 860 students daily. The annual energy consumption cost was about $120,300 before the RCx was done. After completion in 2009, the RCx reduced the bill by 11% and focused mainly on the following electromechanical systems: 

 
  • Natural gas boiler of 590 kW (60 hp)
  • 15 ventilation systems totalizing 13,200 L/s (28,000 CFM)
  • Cooling system of 66 tons (30% of the surface area)

Savings for 6 Other Schools!

Anomalies discovered during investigation of the steam traps and control valves did generate immediate energy savings for Centre St-Michel while improving the preventive maintenance program for 6 other schools. 

Reproduction of this RCx measure will enable the generation of an additional reduction of 560 GJ/year (15,000 m³ of natural gas) and monetary savings of $9,000/year for the Sherbrooke Area School Board.

Results

  • Energy savings1 (gas: 644 GJ, electricity: 119 GJ): 763 GJ/year (12%)
  • Monetary savings2: $13,300/year
  • GHG reduction (equivalent to 8 cars): 42 tCO2e/year
  • Simple payback3: 3.9 years

Cost Breakdown

Cost breakdown

RCx winning measures Annual 

Savings 
1

Correction of deficiencies in steam traps and control valves

Implementation of a preventive maintenance program for steam traps and control valves that includes a monitoring log and the replacement of all defective equipment. Annual natural gas savings of 12,000 m3.

Cost: $7,800 | Payback: 1.1 year  

450 GJ/year

$7,200/year

 2

Addition of a deadband between the heating and cooling setpoints

Insertion of a deadband between the heating and cooling modes.

Annual savings of 6,500 kWh of electricity and 1,500 m3 of natural gas.

Cost: $480 | Payback: 0.3 year

80 GJ/year

$1,550/year

 3 

Addition of a control point for the burner

Connected the burner to the centralized control system and implemented a control logic based on outside temperature. Annual natural gas savings of 1,010 m3.

Cost: $500 | Payback: 0.9 year

38 GJ/year

$570/year
 

10 other RCx measures

Cost: $18,000 | Payback: 4.5 years

 195 GJ/year

$3,980/year

Note: Costs and paybacks include only the cost of materials and labour of implementation phase.

 

" This recommissioning project helped us to confirm that, despite the fact that we were already concerned about the efficiency of our schools, we could do better thanks to simple, inexpensive solutions. It is very rewarding for our operations and maintenance teams! "

Gilles Millaire, Director
Material Resources and IT Department

Commission Scolaire de la Région-de-Sherbrooke [Sherbrooke Area School Board]

Sherbrooke (QC), Canada

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To learn more about CanmetENERGY's activities related to industrial systems, visit the Industrial Systems Optimization section of the website.

Stakeholders

  • Building owner and manager: Commissions scolaire de la Région-de-Sherbrooke
  • RCx consultant: Technosim
  • Measurement and verification: Econoler
  • Collaborator: Ministère de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport du Québec

1 Savings verified by an independent third party in accordance with the International Performance Monitoring & Verification Protocol (IPMVP) and standardized according to weather conditions.

2 Monetary savings do not include non-energy impacts (NEIs) such as extended service life of equipment or increased comfort for tenants.

3 Includes all costs for the 4 phases of the project.